Go, Baby, Go!

Yesterday, we were blessed with the opportunity to participate in GoBabyGo, a program founded by the University of Delaware that has been adopted by schools and groups across the world. The program brought together families, therapists, engineers, and community volunteers to build, adapt, and decorate motorized cars for kids like Cami who face mobility challenges.

Let me tell you what this means to us:

1. This gives Cami access to MOBILITY. Independent, age-appropriate mobility!

2. This gives Cami an opportunity to SOCIALIZE in a way she can't do right now. When we take walks, we either carry Cami or push her in a stroller while big sis runs ahead. She can keep up with big sis now and have active control over her own exploration.

3. We are looking forward to how this will impact Cami's DEVELOPMENT. Research has shown that independent mobility is linked to cognitive, social, motor, language, and other developmental benefits in young kids.

4. This let's Cami JUST BE A KID!
   

How did we get into this program?

A few weeks ago, Cami's therapy team brought up the GoBabyGo program. They had a build day coming up and thought Cami would be a good candidate for the program. So, we nominated her and she was accepted!

How is her car adapted to her needs?

Upon arrival, we were warmly greeted by what I referred to as "Team Cami" - a volunteer assigned to our family, a few of Cami's therapists, and a team of volunteers who helped build the car. Once Cami arrived, we began modifications:

Her team built in a harness so she wouldn't fall forward and hit her head during a seizure. We started by trying this out for size. She was a little apprehensive at first!

Cami is more comfortable trying new things when she feels wells supported, so they wrapped these pool noodles in hot pink tape, cut them to size, and slipped them into the sides of the car so she had more support on either side.

We added a non-slip surface to the seat to help her feel more secure. BONUS - it's washable!

Then they rewired the foot pedals to this big green button. It's currently attached to the steering wheel with industrial strength velcro.

Big sis was involved too - she was our designer!

Time to take her for a spin! We were given a remote to keep her on the road but were thrilled that she was figuring out her button so quickly!

Happy girl!

A HUGE thanks to our wonderful team for giving us this incredible gift!

What was our favorite part of the event?

There were about 12-15 kids participating in this event. After everyone's cars were ready, all of the families, therapists, and volunteers lined the middle of the gym, waved flags, and cheered on the parade of littles driving in their new cars! #imnotcryingyourecrying

For more information about this event, check out this video by The Resource Exchange (home of our therapy team):